How to Repurpose an Expired Day Planner

Has anyone else ever bought a day planner just because it looked pretty, and let it expire on their bookshelf for 3 years, or just me?

⁣It’s officially been one month into the New Year, and I recently came across, not one, but two 2020 planners from Indigo that I bought, but never used. I could (obviously) never bring myself toss them, so instead, I decided to “time warp” them, so I can actually finally use them. And yes, I know some people might think written planners are outdated, but I personally can’t rely on my phone calendar to keep track of everything.  Plus, writing everything down just feels more embedded. 

Anyway, if you’re wondering how to do this, it’s really just the “magic” of washi tape, several refills of coffee, and about a week’s worth of patience (if you take your sweet time like me). And for those who don’t know what washi tape is, it’s basically “fancy” craft tape, often with intricate patterns. The word “washi” comes from Japan and essentially translates to Japanese Paper. Most of my collection (seen below) is from Etsy. I even have one that matches my nails (completely irrelevant to the post, I know).

For this project, I started by colour matching and cutting strips of washi tape to wash over calendar dates and everything “2020”. I (obviously) chose tapes that would match the colours and patterns of my planners — lots of blush and rose gold tones, mixed with hints of sparkly silver and charcoal.

The first day planner I “time warped” is going to used to keep track of all the blogging things. For the cover, I went in with some grey toned strips to update the year, then wrote over top with a fine tip black pen. I then cut smaller strips of sparkly silver tape to cover the year on the dividers, followed by some charcoal tape for inside banners, and little squares of rose gold and silver for calendar dates.

The second planner I decided to “time warp” is going to be used for keeping track of ALL the things — appointments, important dates, special occasions, etc. The cover for this one was pretty simple. I just cut tiny strips of rose gold tape to correct the year, then used the same tape for the dividers and to cover the inside years and dates. Sparkly silver was also used for calendar dates.

While not everything turned out “perfect”, both of these planners have finally been given purpose. All I have left to do is fill in the empty spaces!

I like to think my mom would be proud of this particular project, because she was a collector of day planners, herself, and would literally reuse them until the pages started withering away from the many years of ink and coffee stains.  Because who needs a coaster when you have a thick stack of calendar paper?

To catch more of a glimpse, see the latest on my IG @haveyour.c.a.k.e

Xoxo